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美国故事 SENEWS-2005-0924-Feature

时间:2007-05-12 01:42来源:互联网 提供网友:ahmy88   字体: [ ]
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Now the special English program American Stories. Our story today is Hard Rock Maple1. It is about two people living in New England. They seemed like the hard rock maple trees, often found in that area. Nothing can make them move. Today's story was written by Fredric C. Heali. Here is Shep O'Neal with our story.

Old man Cowben worked in a wheat mill2, not far from his house. Cowben's wife had died many years before. Now he lived with his son Averite. Father and son were happy living together in the old family house. They liked eating together and talking about what had happened during the day. After eating, they would sit in the living room and read. Their life together was warm and pleasant.

But one night, after supper, Cowben and Averite said short things to each other. Averite quickly walked out of the room, he said no more to his father that night. The next morning, the old man awoke early and cooked his own breakfast; usually he would cook for his son, too. But this morning, the father went to work without even talking to his son. Averite got out of the bed when he heard the door closed. He made his own breakfast for the first time in many years. He was still angry with his father. The old man came home after a long day of work at the mill. Averite returned from the store two hours later, neither man talked to the other. They were still angry, and this night they did not even eat together.

Many days and nights passed in the same way. Father and son did not talk, or even look at each other. They still lived under the same roof3, but they acted like two strangers4. After eating, Cowben sat in his chair and read a newspaper, Averite sat across the room in another chair reading6 a book. Sometimes while reading, Averite would slowly look up toward7 his father, he wondered what kind of a person his father really was. He knew that he was a good worker and that he was honest, but his father did not seem friendly with anyone. He seemed to have no emotions8. Averite could not remember ever seeing his father kiss his mother, the son wondered "What kind of a man is he really?" Many more days and nights passed with father and son saying nothing to each other. Days became months, but the heavy silence9 between the two men continued. They still lived in the same old house, but they did not talk.

One Sunday morning, Averite looked out of the window and saw that the ground was covered with snow. Someone would have to clean the snow off the sidewalk10, either him or his father. If Averite offered to clean the sidewalk, his father might think he was trying to be friendly. He did not want his father to think so, he was still angry with him. But if Averite did not do the work, his father might think that he was being11 too cruel12. Averite did not want him to think that, either. While he was deciding what to do, Averite heard a noise outside. He looked out of the window again, he saw his father cleaning the snow off the sidewalk. The old man had been one step ahead13 of his son. Father had made the decision. More weeks passed, and father and son still did not talk to each other.

Then one day, Averite saw that his chair in the living room was getting old. The seat was broken14. It needed to be fixed15. Averite remembered that this old maple wood chair had been in the house for many years, it had been there even before Averite was born. "It is still a good chair", he thought to himself, "I will not throw it away, I will have it fixed". Averite called his friend Alfred on the telephone. Alfred worked in a store where he fixed old tables and chairs. Averite asked him please to come to the house to look at his old broken chair. The old man was home when Alfred came to the house. "Hello, Alfred, I have not seen you for years. Not since you were a little boy". Averite was in the kitchen while the two men were talking. He was surprised to hear his father's voice; he had not heard Cowben talk for almost five years. Averite thought to himself, "so my father will talk to other people", this made him angrier. "I will never talk to him now", Averite said.

Eight more years passed, Cowben, the father, and Averite, the son, still had nothing to say to each other. The days and nights were still the same. The two men ate alone then they sat in the living room and read. Cowben was getting very old.

One day, he stopped working, then he was home all the time. One night, Averite looked at his father for the first time in weeks. Father looked tired and lonely. The old man's hair had become completely16 white just like snow. The son felt sorry for his father. He said to himself, "We are together, even though we do not talk. I am lucky to have someone here with me. It would be terribly lonely without him." And then another winter came, the cold wind blew and the ground again was covered with snow. Inside the old house, father lay sick. He was very old now and it did not seem he would live much longer. Averite drove17 his father to the hospital in town. A young doctor took him to a private18 room. Averited waited outside in the hall. A few minutes later, the doctor came out and said "You can see your father now". The doctor and Averite walked into Cowben's room. The son went in and saw the old man asleep. Cowben looked very tired. Averite sat down in a chair next to the bed and waited. After a time, Cowben moved a little, but he did not open his eyes. Averite wondered if he would ever see his father's eyes again. Then the doctor came back, he told Averite that he knew that he and his father had said nothing to each other for twenty years. "That is our personal business." Averite said. Then the doctor told him how sick his father was. "He might die soon," said the doctor, "you should talk to him now, it will be your last chance." Suddenly the old man opened his eyes, he looked around the room, he looked at the young doctor, and he looked at his son. He smiled weakly at Averite, and Averite smiled back at the sick old man. Then Cowben opened his mouth and tried to talk. Averite quickly put his hand over his father's mouth. He did not want to hear Cowben's voice even though this was the last chance. The old man did not try to talk anymore. His eyes closed again and he was asleep for a long time. The doctor said, "He will not awake again, he is dead".

Averite moved from his chair and got his hat and coat. He walked to the door and then turned to the bed. He wanted to look at his father for the last time. The doctor said with anger5, "He wanted to say something to you before he died. Why did you stop him?" Averite answered, "It was my father who first made the decision that we should not talk. He was the one who felt we had nothing further19 to say to each other. I did not want to hear him say he was sorry. I did not want him to ever think he was wrong". Then Averite walked out of the hospital. He drove home very slowly. When he entered the old quiet house, everything seemed strange. He said to himself "This will be a lonely house now".

You have just heard the American story Hard Rock Maple. It was written by Fredric C. Heali. It was published20 in Yankee Magazine in June 1966. Your narrator21 was Shep O'Neal. The Voice of America invites you to listen next week at the same time for another American story in Special English. This is Susan Clark.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 maple BBpxj     
n.槭树,枫树,槭木
参考例句:
  • Maple sugar is made from the sap of maple trees.枫糖是由枫树的树液制成的。
  • The maple leaves are tinge with autumn red.枫叶染上了秋天的红色。
2 mill rDYxf     
n.磨坊,碾磨机;制造厂,工厂;vt.磨,碾
参考例句:
  • The rice mill was wrecked by the enemy bombing.碾米厂遭到了敌机的轰炸。
  • The farmer took his grain to the mill.这个农民把谷子送到磨房。
3 roof KXmxA     
n.屋顶;v.给...覆以屋顶,覆盖
参考例句:
  • A cat is on the roof.一只小猫在屋顶上。
  • Move back! The roof is falling!往后退,屋顶要塌了!
4 strangers 9d41a5b52de6e05a67580085fdf92a27     
陌生人( stranger的名词复数 ); 外地人,初到者
参考例句:
  • The local people are very hospitable to strangers. 当地人对外来客人十分友好热情。
  • He was a paradox—a loner who loved to chat to strangers. 他真是个矛盾人物,生性孤僻却又喜欢和陌生人闲聊。
5 anger NN5ze     
n.生气,怒,愤怒;vt.使发怒;vi. 发怒
参考例句:
  • I won't see him until his anger has cooled down.等他怒气消了,我再去看他。
  • His eyes flash with anger.他眼中冒出怒火。
6 reading YiGyU     
n.阅读,知识,读物,表演,对法律条文的解释;adj.阅读的
参考例句:
  • Children learn reading and writing at school.孩子们在学校学习阅读和写作。
  • He finds pleasure in reading.他从阅读中得到乐趣。
7 toward on6we     
prep.对于,关于,接近,将近,向,朝
参考例句:
  • Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
  • Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了,并跑了过去。
8 emotions f9e137eda8c0b67a0a786c50d3f49250     
n.情感,感情,激情( emotion的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • He lost control of his emotions. 他情绪失去了控制。
  • Her emotions see-sawed from anger to fear. 她一会儿气,一会儿怕,情绪变来变去。
9 silence gyXwI     
n.沉默,无声,静寂,湮没,无声息;vt.使缄默;int.安静!
参考例句:
  • She raised a hand for silence.她举手示意大家安静。
  • They drove home in silence.他们默不作声地开车回家。
10 sidewalk My9wC     
n.人行道;(=pavement)(英)
参考例句:
  • I happened to meet him on the sidewalk.我碰巧在人行道上碰到他。
  • I found a wallet on the sidewalk.我在人行道上发现一个钱包。
11 being 1yfzKt     
n.存在;生存;生命存在,生命,人, 本质;art.在,有,是
参考例句:
  • Can you explain to me the purpose of being?你能对我解释一下存在的目的吗?
  • What is the purpose of our being?我们生存的目的是什么?
12 cruel 3yrxz     
adj.残酷的,残忍的;痛苦的,引起痛苦的
参考例句:
  • Tigers are cruel by nature.老虎生性残忍。
  • The cruel man abandoned his wife and child.那个狠心的男人舍弃了妻小。
13 ahead fKhyM     
adv.在前,向前,提前,在前面
参考例句:
  • We have to go ahead to find a garage.我们得到前边找个修车厂。
  • Youth looks ahead and age backward.青年人向前看,老年人向后看。
14 broken 6xZz4B     
adj.坏掉的,患病的,被制服的,断掉的;vbl.break的过去分词
参考例句:
  • He is mending a broken cup.他在修补破杯子。
  • Something was broken in my engine.我的发动机里有个东西损坏了。
15 fixed JsKzzj     
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的
参考例句:
  • Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗?
  • Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定,我们就不应该随意改变。
16 completely lvmzzZ     
adv.完全地,十分地,全然
参考例句:
  • She never completely gave up hope.她从不完全放弃希望。
  • I feel completely in the dark on this question.这件事使我感到茫然。
17 drove brAxi     
vbl.驾驶,drive的过去式;n.畜群
参考例句:
  • He drove at a speed of sixty miles per hour.他以每小时60英里的速度开车。
  • They drove foreign goods out of the market.他们把外国货驱逐出市场。
18 private zQFxD     
adj.私人的,私有的,个人的
参考例句:
  • She never spoke about her private life.她从未谈论她的私生活。
  • He was being followed by a private detective.他正被私家侦探跟踪。
19 further tfjz8     
adv.(在时间或空间上)距离更大地;更远地
参考例句:
  • Have you had any further news?你有进一步的消息吗?
  • We will help you further.我们会进一步帮助你的。
20 published 8f888fedf6bd5ff7c93c6d76bb8dc21c     
v.出版( publish的过去式和过去分词 );(在互联网上)发表;公布;在报刊)发表
参考例句:
  • The findings of the commission will be published today. 委员会的调查结果将于今天公布。
  • His diary was not published during his lifetime. 他的日记在他生前未曾发表过。
21 narrator rFdxT     
n.讲述者;解说员;旁白者
参考例句:
  • He listens and waits for the narrator to explain more.他听著,等待讲的人进一步解释。
  • The story's narrator is an actress in her late thirties.故事的叙述者是位年近四十的女演员。
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